Curriculum and Instruction
The Middle School Program (Grades 6-8)
ENGLISH

ENGLISH

CORE ENGLISH 6 (LA 1109)

The English/Language Arts 6 course is organized around eight thematic units. Through reading and analyzing a variety of texts, students will learn to prioritize, to organize, and to retain important concepts and ideas. In addition, as the students examine the literature selections in the units, they will analyze how authors develop theme, character, and setting. By reading and discussing a variety of poems, students will learn to identify the significant features of poetry and figurative language. In this course, the students will write to respond to literature, to explain, to narrate, to describe, and to persuade. As they write, the students will pay particular attention to the central idea, organization, style, mechanics, and usage. All of the units in English/ Language Arts 6 integrate skills in speaking and listening with reading and writing.

ADVANCED ENGLISH 6 (LA 1125)

Advanced English 6 provides a variety of opportunities for the students to examine and analyze literature and language from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. This course is the foundation for the 6-12 honors program in the Virginia Beach City Public Schools English/language arts program, and furnishes the students with the underpinning for the study of literature and language throughout secondary school and college. Throughout the year, students will compare literary elements, participate in shared inquiry discussions, formulate questions, build generalizations, and give academic and aesthetic responses to literature. In addition, the students will read and analyze a variety of texts, and will learn to effectively prioritize, organize, and retain important concepts and information. Frequent composing opportunities will help students to write clearly and concisely, write in a variety of forms for different audiences (with a particular emphasis on persuasive, explanatory, and informative pieces), select vocabulary to achieve a specific tone, and expand and embed ideas by using modifiers, standard coordinator, and subordination in complete sentences.

CORE ENGLISH 7 (LA 1115)

Core English 7 provides a variety of opportunities in reading and writing that challenges the students to examine people and places that are different from the world they know. Strengthening comprehension, learning to prioritize, organize, and retain important concepts and information, fostering an enjoyment of reading, and developing public speaking and listening skills are major goals of the seventh grade program. Students will focus on descriptive and personal writing, and begin to read and write critically about literature. This course is organized around thematic units that integrate skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Special attention in writing is given to creating a dominant impression, forming generalizations, and using specific details to support opinions. Grammar, usage, mechanics, and vocabulary skills that need strengthening are diagnosed in the students' writing.

ADVANCED ENGLISH 7 (LA 1116)

Advanced English 7 provides a variety of opportunities for the students to examine and analyze literature from the Greek myths to contemporary writers. In addition, students will read and analyze a variety of texts, and will learn to prioritize, organize, and retain important concepts and information. The program will provide the students with a strong foundation for the study of literature throughout secondary school and college. The students will write often and spend a great deal of time examining the structure of their own compositions. Through this procedure they will develop the skills to write clearly, as well as for a variety of purposes and audiences. Through writing conferences with the teacher, the students will learn to analyze their own writing needs and improve their grammar, usage, mechanics, and organizational skills.

CORE ENGLISH 8 (LA 1123)

Core English/ Language Arts 8 helps the students to compare their own experiences and feelings to those of characters in literature and to write about their observations. The students will recognize the emotions they share with other young people and adults and identify ideas, opinions, and actions that differ from their own. Through frequent writing in a variety of forms and from many points of view, the students will strengthen their ability to reason and think critically about their own ideas. This course is designed around five thematic units. These thematic units integrate language skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Throughout all of the units students read a variety of genres: nonfiction, drama, poetry, short stories, novels, and folklore. Through reading and analyzing a variety of texts, students will learn to analyze, to prioritize, to organize, and to retain important concepts and ideas. Grammar, usage, mechanics, and vocabulary skills are addressed within the context of the literature and of the students' own writing.

ADVANCED ENGLISH 8 (LA 1124)

Advanced English 8 provides the students with the opportunity to study the concept of heroism from mythical times to modern society. The program provides the students with the skills to analyze and evaluate the social, cultural, and civic concerns expressed in the literature they will read throughout their lives. During this course, the students will read and examine texts from a variety of genres, and will learn to prioritize, organize, and retain key concepts and information. Additionally, the students will write often for a variety of purposes and audiences. They will examine the structure of their own writing with their peers and their teacher. Regularly scheduled writing conferences with the teacher will enable the students to analyze their own writing needs and set goals for improving their grammar, usage, mechanics, and organizational skills. Through this procedure, they will improve their ability to write clearly and concisely. If you need additional information on the Middle School English program contact Robin Hoffman, Office of Instructional Services, at RobinL.Hoffman@vbschools.com.

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